24-05-11 Sub-Master

The inspiration for the project was travel.

People travel so much these days,

visiting foreign countries

sometimes not realising that on their doorstep,

are neighbouring areas where

people have been living for centuries.

For instance, Baltic and Nordic countries

can have much more in common than you would expect.

So, through this project we wanted

to explore how language could support

learning about other countries and cultures even more.

My role in the project is to

organise and co-ordinate the project activities.

To begin with this meant liaising with the transport companies,

Secondly, identifying our target groups,

then delivering the project activities

and working with the transport companies.

We agreed that the campaign would focus on

their buses. So, in the pockets of the

passenger seats on the bus, we put

project materials including a dictionary,

and some language tasks, in Lithuanian and Estonian.

Also, there was a screen which showed learning materials.

First and foremost, people were very interested

in the learning topics we had covered.

The topics were very relevant to them, which was important.

Secondly, people saw this was a good way

to support their own learning.

People's responses were that they were

both surprised and intrigued.

Also, as they left the bus

they were given a small souvenir

which also gave them details of the project.

The main results of the project activity are:

first of all the implementation of this project

has clearly shown that both Baltic and

Scandinavian countries have many similarities.

This was shown when we gathered together

the descriptions of cultural similarities and differences.

Another important result was that

the project used non-traditional learning methods

and a non-traditional learning environment.

When we introduced the learning materials and DVD

it became clear the importance of

learning the language of neighbouring areas.

And it was also good to hear from the learners themselves,

For instance, a grandmother whose grandchild

lives in Stockholm said that she would

visit them, and now be able to

surprise her grandchild and son-in-law

by speaking in their language.

This example shows what a necessary and

useful tool we have developed.